Five metros hit highest job levels in a decade

Recovery is more than a dream in Texas and Pittsburgh. It's a fact of life.

Only five of the nation's 100 major metropolitan areas are currently at their highest employment levels in a decade, according to an On Numbers analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

Four of these high-flying metros are in Texas: Austin, El Paso, Houston and McAllen-Edinburg. The fifth is Pittsburgh.

On Numbers took the official job figures for October 2011 (the latest numbers available from the bureau) and compared them to previous Octobers dating back to 2001.

The following database shows each metro's current level of employment, along with the changes from its best and worst performances of the past decade.

The five metros noted are at the top of the best side of the ledger. They've posted changes of 0 percent, indicating that their current job numbers are their best since 2001. Detroit ranks last among the 100 major markets, currently sitting 16.6 percent below its best employment total of the decade.

The other side of the database indicates how far each market has risen from its worst employment total of the 10-year period.

McAllen-Edinburg is No. 1. Its total of 226,400 jobs in October 2011 is 38.4 percent above its worst reading since 2001.

At the bottom of the list are the seven major markets that are presently at their worst employment levels of the decade: Albany, N.Y.; Birmingham; Harrisburg, Pa.; Palm Bay-Melbourne, Fla.; Philadelphia; Sacramento; and Virginia Beach-Norfolk.